1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automotive electronic systems and, more specifically, to a system for tracking usage habits in a vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Automobile dealerships and other transportation related organizations must maintain a constant effort to prevent the theft of vehicles. Additionally, dealerships have a problem keeping up with the keys to the vehicles and supplying them for the respective vehicles when needed. Typically, the keys to a vehicle are kept in a common location of a dealership showroom or are kept at the vehicle in a local lockbox that is attached to the vehicle. There are several advantages to having the keys at the vehicle in terms of convenience for both the dealership staff and the customer. For example, a dealership is likely to make more sales if the keys can be kept at the vehicle, as prospective customers have less time to reconsider their buying decisions. Also, storing a plurality of keys in a common location to which several different people have regular access increases the likelihood that the keys will become disorganized.
The local lockbox approach also has several disadvantages. For example, a car thief can spray a refrigerant into the lock of the lockbox to make it brittle and then shatter the lock by striking it with a hammer. Also, if the keys necessary to open the local lockboxes are lost or stolen, then the security of the vehicles is compromised. Thus, if a dealership employee leaves the employ of the dealership without returning his lockbox keys, then every lock must be replaced at a considerable cost to the dealership. Furthermore, a local lockbox attached to a vehicle makes the vehicle look less attractive to the buyer, and may even damage the finish of the vehicle.
Some dealerships unlock all of the vehicles on the lot in the morning and then re-lock the vehicles at night. This allows potential buyers to examine the insides of the vehicles at will during normal business hours. However, unlocking every vehicle is a labor-intensive process that ties up a considerable amount of dealership staff time.
Many modern vehicles are equipped with remote door lock controls. The user is supplied with a remote transmitter that allows for locking and unlocking of vehicles at the press of a button. However, the use of existing remote devices does not overcome the difficulties experienced with dealerships because each remote transmitter must be tuned to respond to a unique code to prevent unauthorized access to the vehicles. Thus, the dealership staff must spend unnecessary overhead in organizing the remote transmitters.
Typical methods of determining the productivity of automobile salespeople have included estimates of clients seen, vehicles shown, quotes, and monthly sales volume. While sales volumes and quotes are easy to access, the number of clients and vehicles shown has relied on the sales persons memory and attention to detail. Like many other professional sales people, such activities take a lower priority than selling, and are often inaccurate and rushed through in order to prepare for sales meetings.
Modern automotive vehicles are commonly equipped with multiple-access serial data communications networks to enable data transfers between various electronics within the vehicle. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has established a Standard J1850 Class B data communications network that has become widely accepted throughout the automotive industry. The standard SAE J1850 is a set of technical requirements and parameters that specify the use of symbols for communicating serial data over a communications bus.
The SAE J1850 network is used on all US vehicles manufactured since 1996. There are a number of variations, specifically VPW, PWM, and ISO 9141, plus manufacturer and model specific variations. The standard does call out specific access codes for major vehicle systems, the variations are more for additional systems such as air bags, ABS, vehicle navigation, model specific security systems such as key transponders and rolling codes. Advantages of the SAE J1850 interface include: they provide a standardized connector for all vehicles and variations; a connection scheme is simplified; they provide high security as, one would need an expensive scan tool and knowledge of it operation to access a SAE J1850 system; they provide access to the vehicles VIN, odometer, speedometer, lock system, ignition on time; a simplified locking shackle may be used for the standardized connector; and installation of connecting devices is relatively easy, as the connector is readily accessible from the drivers seat.
Many company or fleet vehicles are used for personal purposes. Currently there are no systems available to track personal mileage, and the fleet operator is dependent upon reports by the user to determine the amount of personal mileage driven. In addition, there is no way to determine the whether the vehicle was driven at excessive speeds. The trucking industry has used data-loggers and chart recorders for years to monitor driver performance, but there is no universal data-logger for passenger cars. Some auto-makers include data-logging as an option to a vehicle control system, but those systems are model specific.
Parents are very concerned with the driving characteristics of their children. Young drivers often ignore automobile safety rules, such as speed limits. Parents of young drivers are unable to monitor the driving habits of their children when the are not riding with them.
Certain existing systems include devices that plug in to an onboard diagnostic port of a vehicle and employ a memory module to record operating parameters of the vehicle. A memory module is plugged into the onboard diagnostic port to store the parameters and then plugged into a computer to retrieve the information stored in the module. Such systems do not generate specific reports that are accessible to fleet managers via a global computer network. Also, such systems do not evaluate usage parameters an flag abnormal driving parameters so as to allow a fleet manager to detect abnormal driving habits (such a speeding or using a vehicle for personal use).
Therefore, there is a need for a system and method of tracking usage habits of an operator of a vehicle that may be installed easily in a variety of vehicle types and that generates remotely-accessible reports that alert a fleet manager to abnormal driving habits.